On Saturday, Jan. 24th, members of the Japan
Society of Fairfield County traveled to New Haven to visit the Yale
University Art Gallery to view its exhibition, "Tea Culture of Japan,
Chanoyu Past and Present." One of the oldest college art museums in the
world, the Gallery is a fine-arts museum presenting works of art from
ancient times to the present day- and open year-round, free of charge.
The Gallery's main building, designed by American architect Louis Kahn,
is considered a masterpiece, and has recently undergone a comprehensive
renovation.
The exhibit, which runs from January 20 to
April 26, 2009, illuminates the importance of Japanese tea culture and
examines the ways in which it has evolved over the centuries. It
includes about 100 objects, drawn largely from distinguished private
collections and supplemented by the works in the collection of the Yale
University Art Gallery. Objects on view range from the Ninth Century to
the present day. Tea ceremony devotees among the Japan Society group
were particularly thrilled to see, among the beautifully presented
objects on display, implements made and used by the great 16th Century
Japanese tea master Sen no Rikyu. Videos were shown describing and
demonstrating four distinct traditions in Japanese tea ceremony that
have evolved over the centuries.
Later, the group gathered in a private
home on Long Island Sound, to meet with Takaya Kurimoto, a
Japanese
garden designer, of Penguin Environmental Design, Hamden,
CT, who was
responsible for the stone arrangements of the exhibit. Takaya-san
discussed the exhibition, and showed slides of tea ceremony gardens. As
the sun set and twilight descended on the Sound, hot green tea, okashi
sweets and various other Japanese delicacies were served to the group.Yale Art GalleryReturn to Recent Programs Return to Main Menu